How Team USA wheelchair basektball star Joseph Chambers first found his wheels

Four years after losing his left leg to cancer, Joseph Chambers found a way to play basketball again - and "it was almost like a breath of fresh air."

"For the longest time I said I would never play in a wheelchair, it would never be the same," said Chambers, once a star for Davis High and soon to be JV boy's basketball coach for Woodland High. "Finally ... I went down there and saw them play one time, and I was hooked."

Not only that, he was talented in the chair.

"You could just tell right away that he was going to change the game no matter who he was playing for, not only for his size but (also for) his ability," said James Glatch, coach of the USA wheelchair basketball team.

At first Chambers played with the now-defunct Sacramento Cagers, but quickly his name was passed to bigger clubs: the Golden State Road Warriors and the San Jose Spartans.

"On the phone they said, 'He can't be ready yet,'" he said. "I showed up, and they just went crazy."

From the get-go the 6'6", 215 lbs. Chambers was a phenomenal talent, Road Warriors player Trooper Johnson said.

"He knew positions, he knew where to go, he knew how to react to things - just (had) incredible knowledge of basketball," said Johnson, a former U.S. Paralympian. "For him to be able to apply that into the chair, for him it's just basketball."

That basic knowledge was incredibly helpful, Glatch said, because most wheelchair players learn in the chair rather than on their feet and thus get less time in the gym.

Road Warriors coach Paul Jackson called Chambers a five-tool player, which is why he tipped off University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a powerhouse in wheelchair basketball, to the newcomer.

"I told the UWW coach, 'If you're going to look at a recruiting chip, this is the kid you want to get - he'll just make wonders of your program,'" Jackson said.

Chambers certainly made an impact. In the four years he spent in Whitewater, the Warhawks went to four national championships - winning two - and Chambers was named to the All-American team four times.

Two years into his collegiate career, Chambers was also invited onto a U.S. team which won silver at the world championships in his first year (2006) as starting center.

"He's always one of the leading scorers on the team ... and the leader in rebounds," said Glatch, who began coaching Team USA in 2009. Glatch added that at the Paralympics this year he'll match Chambers up against Canadian star Pat Anderson, considered the best player in the world. "Defensively (Chambers) gives people headaches because he moves his chair so well."

Chambers' influence goes beyond the court, said Glatch, who shared a story from the 2010 world championships.

A disappointing loss put the U.S. in the bronze medal game, just as a double-overtime defeat to Canada in Beijing Paralympics semifinal was followed by a bronze medal game loss and thus a fourth-place finish in the Games.

"After we lost the game and we were done basically crying over spilled milk," Glatch said, "Joe looked at us and said, 'Two years ago we were in the same place and we went home without a medal. It's our job to go there and get this medal. We've got to forget about today and move on to tomorrow.'"

"We went out the next day and beat up on Italy, and Joe was a huge part of that."

Such vocal leadership was out of the norm for Chambers.

"He doesn't always say a whole lot in team huddles, but when he does open his mouth everybody's going to listen," Glatch said.

Chambers may not be as quiet as the Wolves' JV coach. But he certainly could be with his new professional team, the Road Warriors - who took third in the 2012 National Wheelchair Basketball Association national tournament.

"Honestly the position we're lacking is a big guy," said Johnson, an All-Tournament First Team selection. "We really can't match up down low with other teams. He will definitely give us that ability."

Jackson echoed the sentiment, adding that he's glad to have Chambers on the team after seeing him accomplish so much in the world of wheelchair basketball.